The Buffalo Bills were able to grind out a tough win against a very talented Cincinnati Bengals squad by a final score of 16-12 on Sunday to improve to 5-5 on the season.

What made the win more impressive was the fact that they did so without two of their top playmakers in wide receiver Robert Woods and running back LeSean McCoy for a good chunk of the game – subsequently impacting quarterback Tyrod Taylor while forcing the Bills offense to adjust on the fly.

Buffalo’s passing game sputtered without Woods and McCoy in the lineup, leaving Taylor with sub-optimal targets in Percy Harvin, Brandon Tate, Justin Hunter, Marquise Goodwin and tight end Charles Clay, who failed to make much of an impact against the Bengals’ secondary.

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Taylor knows what kind of impact a healthy McCoy and Woods can have on a game and during his post-game press conference, he acknowledged just how much the two mean to the Bills’ offensive success.

“The production those guys have had this season has definitely been big for us. It’s the nature of the game. Injuries happen, so we have to move forward. I wasn’t aware of Shady’s injury at first, but I knew Robert got hurt,” Taylor said. “I thought Shady was just out for a couple plays, fatigue wise. After a couple more plays, I realized he wasn’t with us. Hopefully we get those guys back on the field as soon as possible.”

Taylor completed 19-of-27 passes for 166 yards and one interception while failing to throw a touchdown. He added another 39 rushing yards on nine carries. The second-year starter didn’t have the same success through the air as he did in Buffalo’s Week 9 loss to the Seattle Seahawks, as the Bills’ offense manufactured just one touchdown drive while settling for three field goals.

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In what was a tightly contested game that came down to a last-second prayer by Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton, Taylor commended Buffalo’s defense for limiting an offense that came into Week 11 with the NFL’s No. 8 ranked offense that averaged 380.8 yards-per-game.

“We knew going into this game it was going to be a tough game. We didn’t know how many points we were going to score of course, but knew it was going to be a tough one and come down to a couple plays. The defense took a challenge on a very explosive offense, a team that has a bunch of playmakers. They went out there and they took the challenge head on, and they played very well. They were able to get us the ball back, and we were able to get points. We just have to get better on the offensive side of the red zone.”

Coach Rex Ryan admitted after the game it’s always great to win no matter the circumstances, but he did concede that the injuries suffered by McCoy and Woods left him feeling ‘deflated.’

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Taylor shared those sentiments when asked about how much the duo factors into the Bills’ chances of winning, but he stopped short of using injuries as an excuse for any subpar play.

“I don’t know the specifics of the injuries and how long guys are going to be out. Some of the guys that went down are definitely big for our team. You never want to see guys get injured. We have a bunch of playmakers on this team, and we’re just going to ask them to step up and take the challenge moving forward.”

After coming away with a big win against a conference opponent, Buffalo will turn their attention to another AFC foe, as they’ll host the Jacksonville Jaguars in another must-win game at New Era Field in Week 12.

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